The View

The comedian suffered a near fatal heart attack in 2012 and has kept a firm eye on her health ever since. "My doctors were noticing that there was an uptick in my numbers since I started on the show," the co-host of ABC's The View told PEOPLE while premiering her new documentary Rosie O'Donnell: A Heartfelt Standup at the Athena Film Festival in New York on Saturday.

"It got a little bit worse right before the holidays, and my doctor was kind of concerned, so when I went back after the holiday break, she said to me, 'You know, the stress level is too much,' " said O'Donnell, 52.

At that point, O'Donnell realized she had to eliminate whatever stress she could. "I've had a lot going on in my personal life that's been very stressful. I have five kids, four of them teenagers, that's a lot of my attention," not to mention, the problems within her marriage to Michelle Rounds. "You know, Michelle and I are going through some hard stuff, and I can't really fix those things right away, but I can fix this," O'Donnell said.

Her first run on The View was full of controversy and on-air clashes. Her return, seven years later, was hotly anticipated. But just six months later, Rosie O'Donnell is exiting again, leaving the ABC talk show without its resident spitfire.

Why? The 52-year-old comedian announced Friday that she's refocusing her life after separating from wife Michelle Rounds.

After only six months back in the hot seat, Rosie O'Donnell has decided to leave The View.

PEOPLE has confirmed that the 52-year-old host/comedian – who returned for the show's 18th season to help fill a big hole left by the retiring Barbara Walters – said through her publicist Friday that she's putting her "family and health first" after a split from her wife Michelle Rounds in November.

"This has been a very stressful situation," according to a statement from O'Donnell's publicist. "She is putting her personal health and family first. ABC has been wonderfully understanding and supportive of her personal decision to leave The View. Next week will be her last."

"We look forward to welcoming the multitalented Rosie Perez back to her seat as co-host on the panel on Feb. 3 after completing rehearsals" for a Broadway play, a rep for ABC confirmed to PEOPLE.

Perez had taken a break from the show while preparing for her role in Larry David's upcoming Fish in the Dark. When her return date wasn't immediately announced, rumors arose that she would no longer have a seat at the panel.

Sherri Shepherd says at least one person found her portrayal of the evil stepmother in Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella on Broadway a little too believable: her 9-year-old son Jeffrey.

"Jeffrey was scared of me," the former View co-host, 47, told PEOPLE Tuesday at the #NYTough Comedy Showcase at Caroline's on Broadway. "He didn't like me playing the evil stepmom. He'd rather I were playing Cinderella."

While Sherri Shepherd has kept mostly mum on the legal battle with ex-husband Lamar Sally over newborn baby L.J., born via surrogate on Aug. 5, the former View co-host is speaking out to pal Wendy Williams.

During an appearance on William's daytime talk show on Wednesday, Shepherd wouldn't elaborate on the details of the drama, but did confirm she's still at odds with her ex.

"We can't say anything about that," she told Williams. "I have a lot of lawyers and I'm in court right now and it's very public and it's very painful."

Sally talked exclusively to PEOPLE in an interview where he claims that he and Shepherd, 47, agreed to have a child via surrogate – using Sally's sperm and a donor egg, after doctors found that Shepherd's eggs were not viable – within a year of their 2011 wedding.